Reality Check by The Information Staff

Recent Editions

Epic CEO Tim Sweeney returned to the U.S. district court after a break in Oakland, Calif., on Monday. Photo: Bloomberg

Epic v. Apple Unearths a VR Bargaining Chip

By Mathew Olson · May 4, 2021 11:48am PDT · 2 comments

As Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney took the stand on the first day of the Epic-Apple trial yesterday, a small detail in one exhibit caught my attention. In early 2018, Epic Vice President of Business Development Joe Kreiner floated an idea to Sony PlayStation: What if Epic were to commit to the launch of a VR game for Sony’s “next VR platform?”That... As Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney took the stand on the first day of the Epic-Apple trial yesterday,...

An AR/VR-focused GDC event in San Francisco in 2019. Image: GDC

Facebook’s VR Fitness Challenge

By Mathew Olson · May 3, 2021 11:46am PDT · 2 comments

If you are a Facebook employee reading this newsletter, and you don’t already own an Oculus Quest 2, what are you waiting for? Last week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a new perk for all Facebook employees: Any purchase of a Quest 2 can now be reimbursed under the company’s wellness plan. Since the Quest 2’s launch last year,... If you are a Facebook employee reading this newsletter, and you don’t already own an Oculus...

Stanford's Jeremy Bailenson. Photo provided by Bailenson

TI Reality Check: How a Stanford Professor is Using VR to Measure Minds

By Mathew Olson · Apr 29, 2021 11:00am PDT

Since 2003, Jeremy Bailenson, a cognitive psychologist who leads Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, has been at the forefront of studying the use and potential impacts of AR and VR. His work touches on how the technologies can change human perception and the ways that they can be leveraged to monitor and understand our... Since 2003, Jeremy Bailenson, a cognitive psychologist who leads Stanford University’s...

A mock-up of how MicroVision's Lidar sensor for autonomous vehicles works. Picture by MicroVision.

An AR Stock Gets Caught Up in the Meme Cycle

By Mathew Olson · Apr 28, 2021 11:02am PDT

A mock-up of how MicroVision's Lidar sensor for autonomous vehicles works. Picture by MicroVision.

An AR Stock Gets Caught Up in the Meme Cycle

By Mathew Olson · Apr 28, 2021 11:02am PDT

Earlier this year when the GameStop stock surge seemingly became all that anyone was talking about, I wondered whether an AR or VR company’s stock would one day end up in the crosshairs of Reddit’s trigger-happy traders. As it turned out, it was already happening, with a small AR-related company called MicroVision. The company... Earlier this year when the GameStop stock surge seemingly became all that anyone was talking...

A pilot in a VRM Switzerland VR helicopter trainer. Image: VRM Switzerland

TI Reality Check: VR Pilot Training Takes Flight

By Mathew Olson · Apr 27, 2021 12:01pm PDT

Virtual reality is emerging as a viable option for training commercial pilots. On Monday, flight simulator maker VRM Switzerland announced that European Union regulators granted approval to one of the company’s VR helicopter training systems. The platform is the first to allow pilots to credit time on a VR simulator as part of their... Virtual reality is emerging as a viable option for training commercial pilots. On Monday, flight...

The customization interface for Oculus’ new avatars, showcasing several body shape options. Image: Facebook

TI Reality Check: Snap’s AR Growth, Oculus’s Avatar Gamble

By Mathew Olson · Apr 26, 2021 11:06am PDT

With Snap expected to unveil its first augmented reality glasses next month, CEO Evan Spiegel made a point last week of emphasizing the growth he was seeing in user-generated AR content on Snapchat. That could augur well for the eventual consumer launch of AR Spectacles—provided that the company is able to make the new glasses accessible... With Snap expected to unveil its first augmented reality glasses next month, CEO Evan Spiegel...

A screenshot from Lone Echo 2. Image from Ready at Dawn/Oculus Studios

TI Reality Check: A Subdued Oculus Gaming Showcase

By Mathew Olson · Apr 22, 2021 11:02am PDT

As any videogames journalist will tell you, Nintendo puts on some of the most high-energy events in the games business, jamming them with new product announcements and attracting millions of views to streamed versions of the nearly hour-long events. While its rivals often try to mimic the spirit of the Nintendo events, with varying degrees of... As any videogames journalist will tell you, Nintendo puts on some of the most high-energy events...

Apple's Raja Bose discusses Apple's M1 chip at the company's spring event on Tuesday. Screenshot via Apple.com

TI Reality Check: Apple’s M1 Chip Meets AR

By Mathew Olson · Apr 21, 2021 11:01am PDT · 2 comments

Apple's Raja Bose discusses Apple's M1 chip at the company's spring event on Tuesday. Screenshot via Apple.com

TI Reality Check: Apple’s M1 Chip Meets AR

By Mathew Olson · Apr 21, 2021 11:01am PDT · 2 comments

Apple is conserving its energy. Yesterday’s product event—the company’s first in 2021—was of special interest to podcasters and folks who pine for those old colorful iMac G3s. It didn’t really come across as a look at Apple’s future, though, save for one possible exception. M1, Apple’s proprietary chip... Apple is conserving its energy. Yesterday’s product event—the company’s first...

Joseph Jerome of Common Sense Media.

TI Reality Check: VR’s Overlooked Privacy Problems

By Mathew Olson · Apr 20, 2021 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Tech companies and government regulators around the world are battling over how consumers’ personal information should be protected on the internet. But often overlooked in these debates are the privacy issues that accompany virtual and augmented reality technology. As we move to more sophisticated VR headsets and, eventually, to all-day... Tech companies and government regulators around the world are battling over how consumers’...

A rendering of a surgeon using a VR headset. Image: Vicarious Surgical

TI Reality Check: A Questionable Quest Move

By Mathew Olson · Apr 19, 2021 12:01pm PDT

Last week, Facebook announced the first exclusive game for the Oculus Quest 2. Later this year, Oculus will co-publish a VR version of Resident Evil 4. While many fans are excited to experience the game’s story in virtual reality, the decision to keep the game off the original Quest headset is going to rankle some users. While the Quest 2... Last week, Facebook announced the first exclusive game for the Oculus Quest 2. Later this year,...

A screenshot of FitXR’s boxing program. Image: FitXR

TI Reality Check: Has VR Fitness Hit Its Stride?

By Mathew Olson · Apr 15, 2021 11:04am PDT

The release of the Oculus Quest 2, coupled with the pandemic’s toll on gym memberships, has given a lift to VR fitness. Take FitXR, a VR dance and boxing app. Sam Cole, FitXR’s co-founder and CEO, told The Information that the company has seen a tenfold increase in daily app revenue since Quest 2’s launch. The app’s... The release of the Oculus Quest 2, coupled with the pandemic’s toll on gym memberships, has...

The Oculus Quest 2. Image: Facebook

TI Reality Check: A Wireless Leap for Facebook’s Quest 2

By Mathew Olson · Apr 14, 2021 11:01am PDT · 1 comment

The Oculus Quest 2. Image: Facebook

TI Reality Check: A Wireless Leap for Facebook’s Quest 2

By Mathew Olson · Apr 14, 2021 11:01am PDT · 1 comment

When Facebook launched the Oculus Quest 2 last fall, it did so while promising that it would keep improving the VR headset with new features. On Tuesday, the company announced what is arguably the biggest change yet: The Quest 2 will let users connect the headset wirelessly to VR games and other apps on their PCs. But what many Oculus users know... When Facebook launched the Oculus Quest 2 last fall, it did so while promising that it would keep...

A rendering of how foveated rendering clarifies images in the center of the field of vision. Image: Nvidia

TI Reality Check: Clearer VR Vision and AR Super-Hearing

By Mathew Olson · Apr 13, 2021 11:00am PDT · 1 comment

Virtual reality is about to get a big visual upgrade. Tucked into a presentation Monday at Nvidia’s annual tech conference was the revelation that the company will start including technology in its graphics chip software that significantly enhances the visual quality of VR experiences. Virtual reality is about to get a big visual upgrade. Tucked into a presentation Monday at...

A prototype of a CREAL virtual reality headset. Photo provided by CREAL

TI Reality Check: Better Optics and an HTC Teaser

By Mathew Olson · Apr 12, 2021 11:16am PDT

HTC has started promoting new VR hardware as though it’s teasing the next Marvel movie. On Friday, the company tweeted out a partial image of something that looked like a new VR headset (HTC later cheekily confirmed that’s exactly what it was). Today, the company also announced a new event called ViveCon 2021—most likely a... HTC has started promoting new VR hardware as though it’s teasing the next Marvel movie. On...

A person uses an iPhone 12 Pro with a LiDAR scanner on it last October. Photo by Bloomberg.

TI Reality Check: The Common Ground Between an Apple Car and AR Device

By Mathew Olson · Apr 8, 2021 11:10am PDT

What do two Apple projects—its autonomous vehicle and augmented reality technologies—have in common? Seemingly not much, other than the intense secrecy surrounding both of them. But a new patent Apple won on Tuesday suggests at least one common technical ingredient between them. The U.S. patent describes an approach to computer... What do two Apple projects—its autonomous vehicle and augmented reality...

An image from Google's new Sodar AR app. Photo by Google

TI Reality Check: Pokemon Go Pushback and AR Experimentation

By Mathew Olson · Apr 7, 2021 11:01am PDT

An image from Google's new Sodar AR app. Photo by Google

TI Reality Check: Pokemon Go Pushback and AR Experimentation

By Mathew Olson · Apr 7, 2021 11:01am PDT

Niantic might have crossed a line in terms of how much it can reasonably ask of Pokemon Go players with its special Easter-timed event. Players are reportedly feeling pressured to spend money in order to collect one Pokemon in particular, which touches on a sensitive issue about loot boxes and gambling-like behavior in gaming. The Pokemon... Niantic might have crossed a line in terms of how much it can reasonably ask of Pokemon Go...

A marketing image from Hologate.

TI Reality Check: Location-Based VR Sees a Comeback

By Mathew Olson · Apr 6, 2021 11:02am PDT · 1 comment

In the early months of the pandemic, when little was known about how easily the virus could spread, location-based virtual reality was facing an existential crisis. It was hard to fathom how businesses built around having groups of customers gather in a room to use shared equipment could avoid trouble. But as vaccination rates rise and more... In the early months of the pandemic, when little was known about how easily the virus could...

An image used to promote Apple’s upcoming WWDC event.

TI Reality Check: An Audio Solution for Zoom Fatigue?

By Mathew Olson · Apr 5, 2021 12:30pm PDT · 2 comments

For about a year now, I’ve been participating on and off in a weekly Zoom social gathering. Folks filter in throughout the day, and most of the time is spent in small, manageable breakout groups of four to five people for 20 minutes. Between those periods, we reconvene in the main room, and aural hell breaks loose. It doesn’t need to... For about a year now, I’ve been participating on and off in a weekly Zoom social gathering....

Microsoft’s HoloLens-based headset for the military. Image: Microsoft

TI Reality Check: Microsoft’s Augmented Army

By Mathew Olson · Apr 1, 2021 11:00am PDT

Within the augmented reality industry, there is a general assumption that wearable devices won’t catch on with the broader public until designers and engineers manage to pack all the necessary components into compact glasses that don’t cost too much. But those constraints don’t apply to devices with the military in mind, where... Within the augmented reality industry, there is a general assumption that wearable devices...

Magic Leap's headset. Photo by Magic Leap

TI Reality Check: More Moves at Magic Leap, and Goodbye PlayStation Move

By Mathew Olson · Mar 31, 2021 11:02am PDT

Magic Leap's headset. Photo by Magic Leap

TI Reality Check: More Moves at Magic Leap, and Goodbye PlayStation Move

By Mathew Olson · Mar 31, 2021 11:02am PDT

Magic Leap’s quest to bulk up its leadership roster after falling on hard times continues: Anuj Gosalia, a veteran of Microsoft, Facebook and Google, is joining as Magic Leap’s Chief Software and Cloud Officer. Gosalia’s team will focus development of Magic Leap’s enterprise software, a new direction for the startup in... Magic Leap’s quest to bulk up its leadership roster after falling on hard times continues:...